Italy’s lockdown to only end gradually

ROME (HRNW) – Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s government prepared Italians for a “very long” lockdown Sunday that would only be lifted gradually despite its economic hardship and traumatic impact on daily lives.

The message from ministers and health officials came as Italy’s world-topping toll rose by 756 — well bellow Friday’s record of 969 — and the rate of coronavirus infections slowed to under six percent for the first time.

Yet the government appeared more focused on the nearing April 3 deadline to lift a national lockdown that had never been tried by a Western democracy — and has since been replicated across Europe and the United States.